Road worker killed when struck by car

CHARLES TOWN, W.VA. - A flagman working at a construction zone at the entrance to the Huntfield development along Augustine Avenue died Monday morning after he was struck by a car traveling south on the road, Charles Town Police Department officials said.

It appears Snyder was struck by the front corner passenger side of a 2004 Pontiac Sunfire, according to Charles Town Police Chief Mike Aldridge and Cpl. Jim Knott.

Snyder then hit the windshield and was thrown for an unknown distance, Aldridge and Knott said. Snyder had two broken legs and head injuries, Knott said.

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The driver of the car, Lee James Crawford, 48, of Keyser, W.Va., skidded more than 100 feet when Snyder was struck shortly after 10 a.m., Aldridge said.

Crawford complained of anxiety and chest pains after the accident and was taken to Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson, W.Va., Aldridge said. Crawford later was released from the hospital, police said.

Three other people in the car were not hurt, Aldridge and Knott said.

Snyder was directing traffic around an area at the entrance to the Huntfield development where workers are building a turnoff lane into the 3,800-home housing development, Aldridge and Knott said.

The work began last week, Aldridge said.

Although an investigation into the accident is continuing, it appears Crawford did not see Snyder, who was standing in the southbound lane, Aldridge said.

Several other workers were in the area but did not see Snyder being struck, Aldridge said.

Southbound motorists approaching the construction zone travel along a long, straight section of Augustine Avenue, which used to be U.S. 340, Aldridge and Knott said.

Motorists pass three warning signs, two alerting them to the construction zone and one to the flagman, Aldridge said.

Although there is a crest in the road near the spot where Snyder was standing, motorists should have been able to see him Monday, Aldridge said.

The speed limit in the area is 55 mph.

Aldridge said he had just been through the area on routine patrol and Snyder assisted him by directing him into the Huntfield development.

"It's a tragedy," Aldridge said.

Snyder's co-workers said Snyder was well-liked and was a "very intelligent young man," Aldridge said.

Snyder worked for CHS Inc., a Frederick, Md., company. Officials with the company did not immediately return a phone message Monday.

Police could not say how fast Crawford was traveling. Police hope those details will be determined through an accident reconstruction being conducted by West Virginia State Police Trooper Geoffrey Petsko.